Collapsible crate or packing-case



' c. F. RAlNSFORD-. COLLAPSlBLE CRATE 0R PACKING CASE.

APPLlCATlON FILED NOV- 18, 1920.

P tented June 7, 1921. v :2 SHE ETSSHEE-T l- 4 unrrs ares CLARENCE FERDINAND RAINSFORD, OF PARKSIIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA.

COLLALBSIBLE CRATE OR PACKING-CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 18, 1920. Serial No. 424,959.

. certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Crates or Packing- Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This crate or case has been designed for packing, shipping and transporting goods, being so constructed that when empty, it can be collapsed or folded down into a small space for transit, thereby reducing the space required and consequent cost and the liability to breakage. In particular it relates to improvements in the crate or case described in my prior application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial Number 330,937,

and in which the sides and ends of the crate are attached by hinges or trunnions to a frame or tray formed of the crate bottom with shallow end and side pieces, so that when the crate is collapsed the sides and ends with the top fold down fiat upon the bottom and are protected by the end and side pieces of the tray, but when erected they interlock and, with a locking device hold one another firm. 7

This present invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of the lid and of the sides and ends whereby the edges of the sides and ends, when erected, are locked together, and the lid is secured and sealed to the ends and sides when erected providing a substantial protection against pilfering of the contents, and similarly secured to the tray when collapsed. No nails, bolts or screws are required to hold or fasten the lid either when erected or when collapsed.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood I will describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side viewshowing a convenient form of my case erected as in use.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view showing the case collapsed.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the case partly erected with the lid raised from the sides and ends.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view showing the retaining device whereby the endsare locked to thesides when erected.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view showing the hinging of the two ends to the tray at different heights.

Patented June 7, 1921.

Fig. 6 shows portion of the abutting edges 7 of an end and side separated, showing said retaining device.

The case or crate may be constructed of wood or metal. v I

The sides A and B and the ends C and D are. hlnged to a tray formed of the crate bottom E with low side pieces F and H The side piece.

and end pieces J and K. H is not visible in the drawing.

The bottom edges of the two ends C and I) are attached by hinges to the floor E of the tray immediately against the end pieces J and K of the tray, see Fig. 5, the hinges of the one end C being at a lower level than the hinges of the other end D so that the one end may be folded down flat upon the floor E of the tray, and the second end may then be folded down flat upon the first.

The bottom edges of the sides A and B are attached by hinges to the tops of the side pieces F and H of the tray, one to each, the one side piece F of the tray being made of such height that the one side A hinged thereto may be folded down fiat upon the top of the two folded down ends C and D,

and the other side piece H being made somewhat higher so that the side B hinged thereto may be folded down fiat upon the first" side r The two ends 0 and D when erected stand immediately against the two end pieces J and K of the tray but the two sides A and B are flush inside and out with the two side pieces F and H of the tray. Further:

more, the two end pieces J and K of the tray rise to such height that when the lid L is laid upon the folded down ends and sides the top of the lid is flush with the top of the end pieces J and K of the tray as shown in Fig. 2.

Each hinge is made of two members N and O of sheet metal, each comprising two or more sections projecting from a wing or body piece, and the outside diameter of the sections is made equal to the thickness of the material in the sides and ends of the case or crate, the metal sections being wrapped around a common central pin P, preferably of wood, and the projecting wings being housed in or flush with and fastened to the wood or other material of which the-parts of the crate are constructed. This construction of hinge insures that all edges are and ends oi? the crate are locked together,

when the crate is (31t)(7't-3('l, by means of a rod S at each corner whichpasses through a se ries of projecting eyes which project from the sides A and B into the center of the edges oi. the ends 0 and D. Theedges of the end pieces are provided with channel shaped metal binding strips Q which run from top to bottom and have cut down the center of their central portion (that which fits across the end) a number of comparatively narrow slots. A channel of the same width is cut in the wood or material down the full length of the end of the end piece immediately behind these slots, see Figs. 4 and 6. The edges of the side pieces are also provided with channel shaped metal binding strips R which run from top to bottom and 'which have formed down the inner side portion (that against which the end piece abuts when the case is erected) a U shaped pro ection, and from this projection are cut awayportions so as to leave lengths of the U shaped projections which pass into the slots formed inthe end pieces. When the ends and sides have been brought into erect position the rods S are passed down the channel and engage these U shaped projecting pieces and prevent them being withdrawn from the slots of the end pieces. Around the inside edge on the top of the ends and side pieces a groove is made on which the lid sits.

The lid L is formed with a flanged edging M of sheet metal which fits over the outside of the ends and sides. Around the edge of the lid and inside the flanged edging a rabbet is cut so that while the outer edge o the lid sits upon the top of the ends and sides the inner part of same sits upon the bett'orementioned groove therein. l/Vhen erected the lid L rests upon and holds the ends C and D and the sides A and B against either inward or outward movement.

The means for securing and sealing the lid L to the ends and sides consists of sheet metal tongues T which are hinged to the lid and tall downward therefrom, the outer ends of the tongues being or stepped inward and fitting into sockets V out in the side pieces of the crate. In the center of each socket V are two holes W which pass through the sides of the crate and which correspond with holes through the hinged tongues T. Before the crate is closed pieces of wire made in the form of staples are passed through the holes W from the inside of the crate. After the lid has been placed in position the tongues T are turned down i into the sockets, the wires passed through the perforations in the tongues and tied and fastening device provides a very secure its 7 tening of the lid to the sides with effective protection against the pilfering of the contents. When the crate is collapsed for the return journey the tongues T fit into sockets Y in the sides oi the bottom tray also provided with perforations to take the securing wires but the sealing may be dispensed with.

Assuming the crate to have been opened and emptied it is collapsed for transport as follows. The rods S. are withdrawn from the interlocking edges of the ends and sides, and placed back in the ends. The one end C, that with its hinge immediately against the bottom of the tray, is folded down between the two sides A and B flat upon the bottom. The other end D is then folded down flatupon the first end C. The one side A, that which is hinged to the top of the lower side piece F of the tray, is then folded down upon the top of the second end D. The other side'B, that which is hinged tothe top of the higher side piece H of the tray,

is then folded down upon the top of the first side A. The lid L is then laid upon the top of the second side B and the hinged metal tongues T are turned down and fitted into the sockets in the sides of the trayand tied with staple shaped lengths ofwire previously inserted through the holes in such sockets thereby securing the whole together.

' To set up the crate the movements are re versed.

Crates and cases constructed as described above have no clips, thumbscrews, or'other projecting fitting either on the outside or the inside. There is nothing which can be knocked or torn off. When collapsed the sides and ends and top of the case or crate fold into the tray and the whole held securely together by the same fastening device as when erected. V

What I claim as my invention is i 1. A collapsible crate or case comprising:a tray formed of the bottom of the,

crate and low side and end-pieces rigidly fastened thereto; ends hinged to thebottom of the tray adjacent to and'within the end pieces thereofand adapted to fold down into the tray; sides hinged to the top of the side pieces of the tray. and adapted to fold down into the tray and upon the ends; a lid having an external flange which-fits over the outside of the endsandsides when erected and having a number of hinged tongues the outer ends of which are set inward and fit into sockets formed in the sides of the crate .whenerected and into sockets in the side pieces of the tray when collapsed, said tonguesand sockets being provided with means whereby the tongues may besecured and sealed when erected and secured when collapsed.

2. A collapsible crate or case comprising: a tray formed of the bottom of the crate and low side and end pieces rigidly fastened thereto; ends hinged to the bottom of the tray adjacent to and within the end pieces thereof and adapted to fold down into the tray; sides hinged to the top of the side pieces 01" the tray and adapted to fold down into the tray and upon the ends; a lid fitting upon the top of the sides and ends having an external flange which fits over the outside of the ends and sides and means whereby it may be secured to the sides and ends; and means for locking the vertical edges or" the ends to the vertical edges of the sides when the crate is erected comprising four slidable rods which engage U shaped projections on the vertical edges of the sides which pass into slots in the vertical edges of the ends.

3. A collapsible crate or case comprising:a tray formed of the bottom of the crate and low side and end pieces rigidly fastened thereto; ends hinged to the bottom of the tray adjacent to and within the end pieces thereof and adapted to fold down into the tray; sides hinged to the top of the side pieces of the tray and adapted to fold down into the tray and upon the ends; the sides and ends having at their vertical edges means whereby they may be locked together comprising as to the one a binding strip with a number of projections and as to the other a binding strip with a number of corresponding slots into which the said projections enter and in which they are held by locking rods; a lid having an external flange which fits over the outside of theends and sides when erected and having a number of hinged tongues the outer ends of which are set inward and fit into sockets formed in the sides 01 the crate when erected and into sockets in the side pieces of the tray when collapsed, said tongues and sockets being provided -with means whereby the tongues may be secured and sealed when erected and secured when collapsed.

In testimony that I claim, the foregoing 

